Definitions in policymaking matter, especially when it comes to defining reusable packaging. Here is what Upstream recommends.

A summary and resources from the Feb 15, 2024 livestream on the importance of defining “reuse” in the policy context.

How do we get producers affected by EPR packaging laws to focus on reuse? By baking funding, requirements, and incentives for reuse directly into the law. Here’s how it’s done.

Upstream’s take on the recently published Zero Draft of the international treaty to reduce plastic pollution.

This Plastic Free July, we have a huge opportunity to make our voices heard by the EPA and bring home the message that the problem isn’t just single-use plastic but single-use itself.

Upstream’s Policy Director Sydney Harris recently returned from the WWF Plastic Policy Summit—and can report that reuse is on the move.

State legislation such as Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) and Deposit Return Systems (DRS) must focus on transitioning to a circular economy that prioritizes reuse.

This week, Sego Jackson - one of Upstream’s founding board members - retired from the City of Seattle. As the saying goes, “People don’t remember what you said. They remember how you made them feel.” And I remember the way Sego made me feel when I first met him back in 2004.

With big brands signaling support for extended producer responsibility (EPR), deposit-return systems (DRS), and – most recently – reuse/refill, opportunities have opened up to pass policies and build infrastructure to transform how we consume products. But with these commitments come competing ideas around vision, strategies and tactics – and about which policies should come first, and which should follow.